Soldaditos de Pavía

Soldaditos de Pavía are Madrid's little salt cod soldiers: strips of bacalao, desalted, dipped in a saffron-gold batter, and fried until the coat is crisp and the fish inside flakes white. They belong to the old tavern counter and to Lent and Semana Santa, when salt cod did the work meat couldn't. The red pepper strip is not decoration trying to be clever. It is the soldier's sash, and without it the joke loses its face.

The method that decides it is not the batter first. It is the desalting, then the drying. Bacalao should taste seasoned all the way through, not harsh, and it must be dry before it touches flour. Wet cod throws water into the batter and the oil, and your neat soldier comes out pale and sulking. Dry it well and the batter grips.

If you are far from Madrid, look first in a Portuguese, Italian, Caribbean, or Latin market for thick salt cod or bacalhau. That is the right road. If all you can get is fresh cod, salt it briefly and use it with your eyes open: the flavor will be gentler and the flesh softer, so fry it a little less. No hace falta haber pisado España, but the cod has to be respected.

Use saffron, a little garlic if you like it, parsley, flour, egg, and very cold beer or sparkling water. The batter should run from the spoon in a ribbon, not sit like dough. Fry in small batches and eat them at once. Pésalo, no lo adivines, especially with the cod pieces. Even soldiers cook evenly.